Biggest money mistake costing Aussies $1,040 a year
Forgetting to cancel free trials and letting gift cards expire are just two ways Aussies are wasting their hard-earned cash.
Millions of Aussies are guilty of making mistakes when it comes to their money, according to new research.
Around two in five – equivalent to 8.3 million Australians – have made a financial blunder in the past 12 months, according to a new Finder survey of 1,090 respondents.
Forgetting to cancel a free trial (17 per cent), letting a gift card expire (14 per cent), and going over data limits (13 per cent) are the most common financial errors Australians have made in the past 12 months.
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Finder personal finance expert Taylor Blackburn said many Aussies could relate to making careless mistakes when it came to their finances.
“Keeping track of all your expenses – especially the automatic ones – can be a challenge,” Blackburn said.
“But turning a blind eye can cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars if you aren’t vigilant. Having just one $20-per-month subscription you aren’t using will set you back $240 a year. If that service costs $20 a week, now you are talking about $1,040 wasted in 12 months.”
How to make an extra $564 a year
The research also found 9 per cent of Aussies had missed out on their bonus savings rate.
Blackburn said the difference between the bonus savings rate and the standard rate could be more than 5 per cent a year.
“Missing out on bonus interest from your savings rate is a much bigger deal now than it used to be. With rates at 5.5 per cent p.a. there is big interest to be made."
Someone with $10,000 in a bonus savings account at 5.5 per cent p.a. would make $564 a year in interest.
That same person would make just $10 in a year if they were to miss the bonus rate and get 0.10 per cent p.a.
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